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Re: % of honey for local

The failure to act with principles is the great american downfall. Up until the 1950's leadership was about how principled a person you were now it's reduced to "Fake it till you make it." In all things we should be accountable you might get away with mixing your honey but if I found out you did it as a coustomer I wouldn't buy another drop. further more I would tell all my friends and family and random people on the street. Decide if you are a quality producer or a cheat.

Re: % of honey for local

I agree, if it's not 100% you might as well just add Corn Syrup and the other crap that the store bought has. If you mix the store crap you are just cheating people that pay for the real stuff.

If you believe that there is corn syrup in grocery store shelf honey, take it to court or change your brain. Prove it.

I have been selling honey by direct store delivery for 20 years. The customer demand outpaces production every year, so I buy honey. I buy honey from friends who produce that honey near me, or in the State. I know them and know how they manage their bees, because I work their bees with them. I buy it from folks I know nand trust and label it under the Squeak Creek Apiaries Label. "Natural North Country Honey from Squeak Creek Apiaries".

The honey is in buckets. I don't make a habit of mixing two buckets of mine w/ two buckets of boughten honey. Too much work to keep track. No one can tell which honey is which, not even me. I don't consider this underhanded or unethical. If someone of y'all do, good for you. You have that luxury. I am making a living from honey sales, such as it is.

So, if anyone wants to judge me or look down their nose at me and my ways, I could care less. Unless you do what I do, don't judge me.

This "Local Honey", "Totally My Honey" can go too far. And limit what an individual can do.

Does anyone critisizer Pepsi for not using only their own produced ingredients? How many of you walk away from a car or truck you really like and want to buy when you find out it isn't totally made by Ford, only made for Ford?

Now, I will agree that one shouldn't buy honey from somewhere definitely not what you consider local, say a NY honey packer bottling honey from California and calling it LOCAL. I label my Varietal Honeys as "Made for you by friends of Squeak Creek Apiaries". I believe that reveals the source as from someone else well enough for those who read labels.

Re: % of honey for local

I have seldom produced as much honey as I can sell. I wish I could.
Markets are hard to find, you can't say, "Sorry, I ran out," you would lose them as a customer.

To keep my markets supplied, I buy honey from other local beekeepers and sell it under my label.
Ask around, it is pretty common to do this and I don't see any problems doing it.
I also don't mix a percent of theirs to mine, it is all still local honey.
The commercial beekeeper gets more $ from me than from the packers, I get to keep my markets supplied which keeps the markets customers supplied. We are all happy.

I heard from a big beekeeper that you can either keep bees or sell honey. If you are selling honey, you are neglecting yours bees, if you are beekeeping, you are neglecting your customers.